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Am I really THAT prejudiced?


jaapv

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Which Contax camera was better than which Leica camera? I have a Contax 645 system, and a friend of mine has a Contax RTS. While they are great systems, there is no comparison to my Leica M6 or M8, nor to a Leica R9.

Carsten, we're talking 1960...

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Carsten, we're talking 1960...

 

Jaap, No, if you look back at Jeff's post you'll see we're talking about the fifties. In the middle sixties we got the M4 and that removed all doubt. I was shooting with several cameras in the fifties, including the Ikoflex which was a cheap Zeiss version of the Rollei. The lens on that thing was stupendous. I agree that the Contax was one of the best in the fifties, but I won't agree that it was the best camera for street work. The M2 came out in 1957. In my estimation that was the best street camera in the world at the time.

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It is the combination of photographer and gear which is important. For every photographer, there is both gear which will inspire him or her, and gear which will do the opposite. Leica gear inspires me, as do Contax and Hasselblad V cameras. The traditional design and quality feel just make me want to go out and shoot. Plastic doesn't do that for me. I just want to put such a camera down and go do something else.

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Guest stnami
Not quite, rather second best. You're forgetting Contax
No matter what the sandpit attitude comes back to ..............my camera is better than yours Edited by stnami
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Jaap, No, if you look back at Jeff's post you'll see we're talking about the fifties. In the middle sixties we got the M4 and that removed all doubt. I was shooting with several cameras in the fifties, including the Ikoflex which was a cheap Zeiss version of the Rollei. The lens on that thing was stupendous. I agree that the Contax was one of the best in the fifties, but I won't agree that it was the best camera for street work. The M2 came out in 1957. In my estimation that was the best street camera in the world at the time.

 

 

 

ok, fifties, sorry;)

 

 

 

I would say that the Robot might have been the most suited for the street because of its fast motordrive. This was the heyday of the German camera industry, and the photographers had a number of brands to choose from, and why the chose one or the other is unknown to me. Anyway HCB and Doisneau (who I actually prefer ;)) chose Leica, Ansel Adams shot Contax, etc....

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Edited by jaapv
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Guest stnami

You just can't stop saying my camera is better than yours, maybe you should concentrate on taking photographs rather than cameras and you will see a new use for the camera ....a new age of enlightenment will beckon you forth into uncharted territory

Edited by stnami
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You seem to have drunk from from the fountain of youth, unfortunately at the age of fourteen.. I don't even own a Contax. Now please go away and annoy your parents with your tantrums.

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To me, there could be one potential reason why Leica pictures could be "sometimes" perceived better than Canikon's : I have noticed that people with Nikons or Canons tend to stand in a location than adapt the the FOV with the zoom meanwhile with a prime lens (which can also be mounted on Canikon's) you tend to position yourself with your feet to get the best angle and perspective which should logically lead to better results. My 2 cents anyway.

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ok, fifties, sorry;)

 

 

 

I would say that the Robot might have been the most suited for the street because of its fast motordrive. This was the heyday of the German camera industry, and the photographers had a number of brands to choose from, and why the chose one or the other is unknown to me. Anyway HCB and Doisneau (who I actually prefer ;)) chose Leica, Ansel Adams shot Contax, etc....

 

With the M2 a good thumb could beat any motordrive. Furthermore, in my own experience anyway, I've never found that a rapid series of shots was of much use on the street. What you're after is the one that comes just for that fraction of a second when everything's in balance. Sometimes it's worthwhile to keep shooting but not at motordrive speed. Actually I tend to like Elliott Erwitt ;) even better than either HCB or Doisneau, though I have a great deal of respect for both of them. Elliott was another Leica guy.

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Jaap you are starting to rave like that guy character, inability to see part one's shoe size. So are you capable of shooting images or just capable of shooting the vitues of Leica and that all other brands are inferior.

 

I still teach/ tutor film photograph as well as digital and come in contact with a variety of cameras and a darkroom daily. You are a digital shooter who mouths off about film that he doesn't use and no longer cares for.

Edited by stnami
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To me, there could be one potential reason why Leica pictures could be "sometimes" perceived better than Canikon's : I have noticed that people with Nikons or Canons tend to stand in a location than adapt the the FOV with the zoom meanwhile with a prime lens (which can also be mounted on Canikon's) you tend to position yourself with your feet to get the best angle and perspective which should logically lead to better results. My 2 cents anyway.

 

There's something to what you're saying. When I do street shooting with my D3 I almost always have a 50mm prime on it for exactly that reason. Once in a while, if you're in a crowd, it's worth putting on a short-throw wide angle zoom, but the 50's usually best. The avatar I'm using came from an M4 with a 50mm Summicron, by the way.

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Jaap, although I generally enjoy the off-colour ramblings of Imants, I tend to think more like yourself, but there is this one little thing which bothers me, and which I find interesting: Imants, myself, and many other people here use their own photos as avatars (creation more than photo, in the case of Imants), but you have equipment in your avatar. What does this reveal? ;)

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That I'm too lazy to change my avatar from the style most of used to have a couple of years ago? But a fair point; I should update.

How about this? :D

Edited by jaapv
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Jaap you are starting to rave like that guy character, inability to see part one's shoe size. So are you capable of shooting images or just capable of shooting the vitues of Leica and that all other brands are inferior.

 

I still teach/ tutor film photograph as well as digital and come in contact with a variety of cameras and a darkroom daily. You are a digital shooter who mouths off about film that he doesn't use and no longer cares for.

 

STNAMI ... the winning rabbit !!

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Jaap you are starting to rave like that guy character, inability to see part one's shoe size. So are you capable of shooting images or just capable of shooting the vitues of Leica and that all other brands are inferior.

 

I still teach/ tutor film photograph as well as digital and come in contact with a variety of cameras and a darkroom daily. You are a digital shooter who mouths off about film that he doesn't use and no longer cares for.

 

Hmmm. My last upload in the photoforum was on Velvia.... You are talking BS... If you tutor the way you post I pity your students.

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